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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

clear.

Transparent in colour.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈklɪə/Received-Pronunciation[ˈkʰlɪə̯]Received-Pronunciation/ˈkliə/Australia, New-Zealand[ˈkʰliə̯]Australia, New-Zealand
  1. Transparent in colour.

    as clear as crystal
  2. Bright; luminous; not dark or obscured.

    The windshield was clear and clean.
    Congress passed the President’s Clear Skies legislation.
  3. Free of obstacles.

    The driver had mistakenly thought the intersection was clear.
    the coast is clear
  4. Without clouds.

    clear weather; a clear day
  5. Of the sky, such that less than one eighth of its area is obscured by clouds.

  6. Free of ambiguity or doubt; easily understood.

    He gave clear instructions not to bother him at work.
    She made it clear that she dislike me.
  7. Distinct, sharp, well-marked.

  8. Free of guilt, or suspicion.

    figuratively
    a clear conscience
  9. Without a thickening ingredient.

  10. Possessing little or no perceptible stimulus.

    clear of texture; clear of odor
  11. Free from the influence of engrams; see Clear (Scientology).

  12. Able to perceive straightforwardly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating.

    a clear intellect; a clear head
  13. Not clouded with passion; serene; cheerful.

  14. Easily or distinctly heard; audible.

  15. Unmixed; entirely pure.

    clear sand
  16. Without defects or blemishes, such as freckles or knots.

    a clear complexion; clear lumber
  17. Without diminution; in full; net.

    a clear profit
  18. Showing a green aspect, allowing a train to proceed past it.

  19. Good, the best.

    Multicultural-London-English
    Nando's is clear.
  20. Better than, superior to. (usually with points, votes, etc.)

    Commonwealth · Ireland · UK · especially
    Spurs are clear of Arsenal.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish, German, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, Italian chiaro, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro.

adv/ˈklɪə/Received-Pronunciation[ˈkʰlɪə̯]Received-Pronunciation/ˈkliə/Australia, New-Zealand[ˈkʰliə̯]Australia, New-Zealand
  1. All the way; entirely.

    informal · not-comparable
    I threw it clear across the river to the other side.
  2. Not near something or touching it.

    not-comparable
    Stand clear of the rails, a train is coming.
  3. Free (or separate) from others.

    not-comparable
  4. In a clear manner; plainly.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish, German, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, Italian chiaro, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro.

verb/ˈklɪə/Received-Pronunciation[ˈkʰlɪə̯]Received-Pronunciation/ˈkliə/Australia, New-Zealand[ˈkʰliə̯]Australia, New-Zealand
  1. To remove obstructions, impediments or other unwanted items from.

    transitive
    Police took two hours to clear the road.
    If you clear the table, I'll wash up.
  2. To remove (items or material) so as to leave something unobstructed or open.

    transitive
    Please clear all this stuff off the table.
    The loggers came and cleared the trees.
  3. To leave abruptly; to clear off or clear out.

    intransitive
  4. To become free from obstruction or obscurement; to become transparent.

    intransitive
    When the road cleared we continued our journey.
    After a heavy rain, the sky cleared nicely for the evening.
  5. To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from (a matter); to clarify or resolve; to clear up.

    transitive
    We need to clear this issue once and for all.
  6. To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.

    transitive
    The court cleared the man of murder.
  7. To pass without interference; to miss.

    transitive
    The door just barely clears the table as it closes.
    The leaping horse easily cleared the hurdles.
  8. To exceed a stated mark.

    transitive
    She was the first female high jumper to clear two metres.
  9. To finish or complete (a stage, challenge, or game).

    transitive
    I cleared the first level in 36 seconds.
  10. Of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.

    intransitive
    The check might not clear for a couple of days.
  11. To earn a profit of; to net.

    transitive
    He's been clearing seven thousand a week.
  12. To approve or authorise for a particular purpose or action; to give clearance to.

    transitive
    Air traffic control cleared the plane to land.
    The marketing department has cleared the press release for publication.
  13. To obtain approval or authorisation in respect of.

    transitive
    I've cleared the press release with the marketing department, so go ahead and publish it.
    The plane has been cleared for landing.
  14. To obtain a clearance.

    intransitive
    The steamer cleared for Liverpool today.
  15. To obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.

    transitive
  16. To disengage oneself from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.

  17. To hit, kick, head, punch etc. (a ball, puck) away in order to defend one's goal.

    intransitive · transitive
    The goalkeeper rushed forward to clear the ball.
    A low cross came in, and Smith cleared.
  18. To reset or unset; to return to an empty state or to zero.

    transitive
    to clear an array;  to clear a single bit (binary digit) in a value
  19. To style (an element within a document) so that it is not permitted to float at a given position.

    transitive
  20. To unload a firearm, or undergo an unloading procedure, in order to prevent negligent discharge; for safety reasons, to check whether one's firearm is loaded or unloaded.

    transitive
    To prevent any shooting accidents, remember to clear your pistol and stay aware of your surroundings.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish, German, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, Italian chiaro, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro.

noun/ˈklɪə/Received-Pronunciation[ˈkʰlɪə̯]Received-Pronunciation/ˈkliə/Australia, New-Zealand[ˈkʰliə̯]Australia, New-Zealand
  1. Empty or open area.

    The deer were standing in the clear.
  2. Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls.

    a room ten feet square in the clear
  3. The completion of a stage or challenge, or of the whole game.

    It took me weeks to achieve a one-credit clear (1CC).
  4. A person who is free from the influence of engrams.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish, German, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, Italian chiaro, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.